A contact piece of the generic type mentioned above is generally used for connection of an electrical conductor. This is done by making contact with a conductor core and, possibly, by passing through conductor insulation prior to making contact. The contact can also be made in conjunction with other contact or clamping tech. The field of use extends from installation technology to telecommunications technology.
Conventional contact or clamping technology such as a connecting terminal, an insulation-displacement terminal or else an insulation-displacement terminal contact are equally used for the connection of electrical conductors. With regard to reducing the financial cost of producing contact or clamping technology, it is desirable to use as few components, as possible, with these components being as simple as possible. However, on the other hand, it is necessary to make a sufficiently reliable contact with the electrical conductor by way of a contact or clamping technology.
DE 26 43 471 C3 discloses a connecting terminal being composed of a terminal body made of material in the form of strip. The terminal body in this case forms a rest for a conductor that is to be connected. The terminal body also has a clamping screw, which is screwed into a thread in the terminal body.
The terminal body in this case holds the clamping screw centrally in the strip material. Side limbs are bent back until they approximately touch at their end, thus guiding the clamping screw, and in their flanks have recesses which form a web as a rest. On the basis of design features, this connecting terminal can be associated with the category of female connectors or else clip terminals.
DE 86 04 746 U discloses what is referred to as an insulation-displacement terminal for making contact with an electrical conductor wire that is sheathed with insulation. The insulation-displacement terminal comprises two cutting plates, which are aligned parallel to one another at a predetermined distance apart from one another, with a vertical slot, which is open at the top and widens in the shape of a funnel at the open end, for the insertion of the conductor wire. In this case, the cutting plates have a common baseplate at their end opposite the slot opening, which baseplate merges on one side into a connecting element, for example a spring contact. The electrical conductor wire that is sheathed with insulation is thus pressed into the open end of the slot that widens in the form of a funnel, such that the insulation is cut through by the cutting plates that are aligned parallel to one another. The cutting plates thus touch the conductor wire, resulting in an electrically conductive contact.
FR 2 304 193 also discloses a cable connector which has two projections, which are provided with cutting edges, and a screw, with the cutting edges passing through the plastic insulation on an electrical cable when the screw is tightened, and making mechanical and electrical contact with this electrical cable.
In the same way for the terminal body of the connecting terminals, it can also be said for the various variants of the insulation-displacement terminals that the complex shapes can lead to an increase in the production costs. Furthermore, in the case of conventional insulation-displacement terminals, clamping forces which occur during the clamping process and contact surfaces between the conductor core and the contact piece are in some circumstances relatively small.